Scribd
Upload
339 views

Getting Started Harmonica

Harmonicas have been played for over 1000 years, originating in East Asia. Modern harmonicas typically have a metal cover, wooden or plastic comb, and brass reed plates. They are wind instruments that produce sound through metal reeds. A 10-hole diatonic harmonica, the most common type for blues, can produce 20 notes through blowing and drawing air through the holes. Harmonica players can also bend notes and employ advanced techniques. Beginners should start with a diatonic harmonica in C, D, or G which are common keys for blues.

Uploaded by

Bruce Stordock
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
339 views

Getting Started Harmonica

Harmonicas have been played for over 1000 years, originating in East Asia. Modern harmonicas typically have a metal cover, wooden or plastic comb, and brass reed plates. They are wind instruments that produce sound through metal reeds. A 10-hole diatonic harmonica, the most common type for blues, can produce 20 notes through blowing and drawing air through the holes. Harmonica players can also bend notes and employ advanced techniques. Beginners should start with a diatonic harmonica in C, D, or G which are common keys for blues.

Uploaded by

Bruce Stordock
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

GETTING STARTED

HARMONICAS Excerpted f
om
rom

u s i c M a g . c
n Harmonicas have been played in one form or another since their invention
MakingM
in the Far East around 1000 bc. Early harmonicas used reeds and bamboo BLUES
resonating pipes. The modern kinds played by blues and jazz musicians usually A“blues harmonica”
have a metal cover, a wooden or plastic “comb,” and brass reed plates. is more often
Harmonicas are wind instruments that belong to the reed family (along with than not a 10-hole
diatonic harmonica
clarinets and bassoons). Thanks in part to their ruggedness, the harmonica’s
(although blues music can be
metal reeds literally can be blown this way and that to increase the instrument’s
played on other types of harmonica). A
tonal range. A typical, inexpensive “blues harp” has 10 holes, each of which
diatonic harmonica produces notes and chords in a
can be blown (breath out) or drawn (breath in) to produce 20 different notes.
single key. Manufacturers offer diatonic harmonicas in
Some notes on a blues harmonica also can be “bent” by changing the shape of several keys, although blues beginners should start out
the mouth to produce sharps and flats. Add to that advanced techniques such with a D or G model.
as cross harp, overblows, wah-wah, tongue slaps, throat vibrato, and miking
and you have an instrument that is more than the sum of its parts.

There are many harmonica styles, brands, and variations on the market, but to OCTAVE
get started, look for a harmonica that suits the style of music you wish to play. Each row of holes
Fans of bluesman James Cotton or jazzman Howard Levy will want a 10-hole on an octave har-
diatonic harmonica. Larry Adler enthusiasts should choose a chromatic harp monica is tuned ex-
(they have a button the side to change tones). Traditional folk music often actly one octave apart. When the
employs the tremolo harmonica. two rows are played together it sounds as
though two harmonicas are playing the same mel-
You may have seen some players using so many harmonicas, they carry them
ody. This enables a single player to achieve a stronger,
in a “gun belt” across their chests—like Blues Traveler’s John Popper—or even full-bodied sound not possible while playing a standard
in a tackle box. That’s because 10-hole diatonic blues harmonicas come in a diatonic harp.
number of keys. To get started, you don’t need to buy a full complement. For
playing blues, it’s recommended you first buy a diatonic harp in the key of C,
D, or G, common keys for blues songs.

TRY THIS: Simple Blues Riff


This notation shows one of CHROMATIC
the most basic blues “riffs,”
The chromatic harmonica has a button-operated slide
heard in countless songs in
that allows the player to change the pitch of any given
the genre and often used as a
note upward by a half step. This means that each hole
bass line. Written harmonica
has four pitches rather than two.
music sometimes adds an
extra set of notations to the
musical scale. For the first note (G), the accompanying down arrow means
“draw” (breathe in) and the “2” refers to hole 2 on a harmonica in the key of
C. The up arrow refers to “blow” (breathe out) notes. Thus you play note E
TREMOLO
by blowing hole 5. Tremolo harmon-
icas are somewhat
If you’ve already tried to play some harmonica tabs, it may have occurred
misnamed. “Tremolo” usu-
to you that you can’t play and read the numbers on the harp at the same
ally refers to a wavering of pitch or
time. Getting a feel for what hole you’re on takes practice. You can try put-
volume, but the unique sound of tremolo harmon-
ting your finger on the hole you’re blowing, then pull the harmonica away
icas actually comes from an effect called “frequency
from your lips so you can read it. Some suggest covering the notes to the
interference”—the two reeds in each hole are tuned
left and right with your fingers to help learn what each note should sound
differently, one slightly sharp and the other slightly flat.
like. Another option: Skip the guesswork and give the Bendometer (www.
harmonicagame.com) playing system a try.

Visit MakingMusicmMag.com for more instrument resources.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy